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| Myrtle Warbler |
Is it really 12 months since I posted my review of 2021’s birding? The years really do seem to go faster as you get older! Anyway, without further ado, here is a review of my 2022 birding year.
2022 was a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding year with a par for the course annual total of 221 birds and 15 additions to my life list including 2 firsts for Britain. The autumn trip to Shetland was undoubtably the outstanding highlight of the year. The timing weather wise was absolutely spot on with gale force winds producing a seemingly endless stream of wonderful rarities included a remarkable five lifers for me in just ten days. I very much doubt that that will ever happen again!
Bird of the year
This is a real tough one with so much to choose from. The two UK firsts, namely the Cape Gull at Grantham on the 7th of August and the Least Bittern at Scousbrough on the 7th of October are outstanding candidates but I’m going to go for the Slate-coloured Junco that I saw in St Ishmael's on the 22nd of May. I’ve gone for this north American gem because the twitch to see it so wonderfully sums up the roller-coaster ride of disappointment and elation that often goes hand in hand with chasing rare birds.
This is a common bird in North America and I had seen many on my numerous visits over the years. They are, however, very rare vagrants to the British Isles and hence represented a sizable gap in my UK bird list. When news broke of the bird on Sunday 22nd May I dropped everything and drove to St Ishmael’s on the southwestern tip of Wales as I was well aware that most of these birds are one day wonders in the UK. The bird was in a private garden and as I arrived at the designated parking area, some 10 minutes’ walk to the location, I met another birder who told me I better hurry up as the garden was about to be closed for the day. Now, due to a complete cock-up on my part, I went to entirely the wrong place and by the time I finally worked out where the house was everyone was gone and the house was empty. In complete despair I walked back along the drive to my car but as I got to the end of the drive a car drove up and stopped next to me. I meekly asked the driver if this was the location of the Junco and he said yes he was the house owner and I was welcome to look. When he heard how far I’d come he said that he better make me a cup of tea – what a lovely man! The bird had been feeding on a patch of ground sown with wildflower seeds and after an hour or so the gardener, who had originally found the Junco that morning, arrived with his small son but there was no sign of the bird. After another couple of hours there was still no sign and I was close to leaving when there was a flash of slate grey in the hedge and there was the Junco. As has often been the case with Juncos I’ve seen in North America, it was very confiding and gave excellent views until it was nearly dark.
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| Slate-coloured Junco |
Photo of the year
I’ve been fortunate enough to get some semi-decent pictures of quite a few birds this year. It’s always tempting to go for a good shot of something very rare such as the Myrtle Warbler above. I’ve decided, however, to ignore this temptation and go for a picture of a scarce rather than rare bird that gave me particular satisfaction. I spent quite a lot of time in the spring of 2021 sussing out my local woodland for Nightingales, Redstarts, Pied Flycatchers and Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers. I hence knew exactly where to go in May to watch and photograph Wood Warblers. Many hours spent sitting on a damp log in one particular spot were rewarded with some stunning views of a singing male. I was particularly happy with this photograph and every time I look at it I can almost hear the Wood Warbler’s distinctive spinning penny song – role on spring 2023!
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| Wood Warbler |
Dip of the year
A few good candidates as always. Staring at the same bush on Beachy Head for hours on end hoping to see a Radde’s Warbler is right up there but my day trip to Cornwall, i.e 4 hours each way, to dip a Montagu’s Harrier, a big bogie bird for me, takes the biscuit. A very early start had me arriving around 9 to be informed by two birders at the parking spot that the bird had been showing well but had just flown off high inland. No worry as it had been doing this on previous days but then coming back several times during the day to quarter the heathland on the hill. Cue 8 miserable hours standing on a windswept and largely bird free hill staring wishfully into the distance. Needless to say that the bird was never seen again!
Lord Snowdon one pixel award
There are always many hundreds of photos deleted from my camera for everyone I keep so I’m rather spoilt for choice here. Rather than go for a picture of a very distant bird as in previous years I’m going for a totally obscured photo of a Baikal Teal taken at the RSPB Greylake reserve on the 17th of February. Good luck with finding it in this picture as it is 99% obscured. If you look closely you can just about make out a vivid green blob behind the reeds where its head is!
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| Where is Wally? |
To finish with here is a small selection of my other favourite photos from this year.
All that remains is for me to wish you all a very happy and bird filled 2023!
Footnote – my blogs are posted with sometimes rather imaginative spelling and grammar due to my extreme dyslexia!
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